MP tells collapsed Scott Leathers boss to ‘look inward’

Sam Rushworth said it was “easier” for business owners to point fingers than ask where they went wrong.

The rebuke follows comments by Jim Aird, whose bespoke leathers firm in Barnard Castle was wound down on March 26.

The company was officially wound down on 26 March. (Image: NQ)

Mr Aird, a former British champion motocross rider, claimed rising costs and decisions by Chancellor Rachel Reeves made survival impossible.

The 78-year-old said: “It is very sad, but what can we do?

“It is all to do with various governments that we have had over the years.”

He added: “This government is killing the UK.

“It is just not possible to be in business in the UK at the moment.”

Mr Aird said the company, which employed half a dozen people, could not keep up with minimum wage increases, but Mr Rushworth hit back over the closure.

The Bishop Auckland MP said: “These days, every time a business closes they (and the media) blame the government.

“Never market-forces like when Woolworths, Wilkos, etc all closed.

“I suppose that’s easier than looking inward, and asking when the business itself went wrong.”

Energy bills and Covid loan debt cited as pressures

Mr Rushworth suggested failing companies were instead struggling with high energy bills and deferred pain from the pandemic.

In a comment on The Northern Echo’s original story about the closure, he said: “I am speculating here, but a lot of businesses are carrying Covid loan debt, which is proving difficult to repay.

“That’s no criticism of them, just a reality that, in a way, the government deferred economic pain during Covid, by saddling businesses and the country with debt.

“The day of reckoning always comes.”

He also questioned whether a drop in demand contributed to the collapse.

He said: “I wonder what role consumer preferences has paid here, given industry reports that biking is declining as a hobby, with average age at bike meets increasing.”

Lawyers have now been brought in to sell off the company’s assets, with auctions underway to find new homes for machinery and clothing.

Stock being auctioned off by liquidators after the closure. (Image: NQ)

In its liquidation, Ellis Breese said Kate Ellis was appointed liquidator of Scott Custom Ltd, trading as Scott Leathers, on March 26.

In 2008, Scott Leathers was reported to have appointed administrators, with Mr Aird later buying the company’s assets through a newly formed firm in a “pre-pack” deal.

Mr Aird also said the firm could not compete with overseas manufacturing, saying: “There’s no point trying to compete with the Far East.”

Despite his criticism, Mr Rushworth expressed sympathy for those affected by the loss of jobs.

“It’s always sad to see a business go, especially one someone has put a lot of love into, so I feel for everyone involved,” he said.

Jim Aird was unable to be contacted.